In early 2003, Costa's homemade demo reached No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek in order to form Costa's first full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing.
Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson's summer tour. He has since toured with Modest Mouse, Oasis, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Death Cab for Cutie. Costa joined Jack Johnson for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George soundtrack; his track is entitled "Lullaby". This song was taken from his The Elasmosaurus EP. Costa has also toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South America.
The video for Costa's first single "Cold December" was released February 2, 2006. On July 31, 2007, he released a song titled "If You Took To Me" as part of the environmentally minded polar bear documentary Arctic Tale and its soundtrack.
On October 7, 2007, Costa released the first single, "Mr. Pitiful," from his record Unfamiliar Faces. The song "Mr. Pitiful" was used during a scene with Paul Rudd in the movie I Love You, Man, the redband trailer for the film Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera, and the movie Marmaduke. The song is featured during the opening credits of The Answer Man (film). Apple also used an instrumental cut of this song for the worldwide iPhone 3GS ads.
Mobile Chateau, Costa's next album, was released on September 21, 2010, via Brushfire Records. His 2013 self-titled album was recorded at Pheasant Studios in Santa Ana, CA, as Costa's first solo production.
Clipped Wings
Matt Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She was trouble
Me, with the games I played was a puzzle
But I loved her, it's true
Now I know what love can do
Once we were young, and lived dangerous
But the rains poured down, they started to change us
Singing in circles around her were golden cherubs of sorrow
I tried to bury them all in the backyard with a shovel
But I only dug myself a hole
Once we were young, and lived dangerous
But the rains poured down, they started to change us
We both grew so ancient
There we were, familiar strangers
When the rains poured down,
Heaven knows why she changed her mind
Or she saved her goodbyes
Over cloudy skies, we tried, with clipped wings, to fly
She was the rain dancing in puddles
She was trouble
Once we were young, and lived dangerous
But the rains poured down, they started to change us
We both grew so ancient
So there we were, familiar strangers
When the rains poured down,
Heaven knows why she changed her mind
Or she saved her goodbyes
Over cloudy skies, we tried, with clipped wings, to fly
In the lyrics of Matt Costa's song "Clipped Wings," the singer reflects on a past love that was both beautiful and tumultuous. He describes the woman he loved as being like rain dancing in puddles, free-spirited and spontaneous. He acknowledges that he was a puzzle to her, with his own complexities and games that he played. Yet, despite their differences, he loved her deeply and recognizes that their love changed him in ways he never imagined.
As the song progresses, the singer notes that they were once young and reckless, but as the metaphorical rains poured down, they began to change. They both grew older and more world-weary, and the relationship that once felt exhilarating began to feel burdensome. The singer portrays himself as trying to cling to the past, even as he realizes that he is only digging himself deeper into a hole by doing so.
Ultimately, the relationship falls apart, leaving the two former lovers as "familiar strangers." The singer wonders why things had to end, questioning whether his former partner simply changed her mind or if there was something more profound driving the split. He acknowledges that they tried to make things work despite the difficulties they faced, but in the end, their wings were clipped, and they were unable to fly.
Line by Line Meaning
She was the rain dancing in puddles
She was like the refreshing rain that danced in excitement in puddles.
She was trouble
She was the kind of girl who brought both excitement and chaos.
Me, with the games I played was a puzzle
I was a mystery to her due to the games I played with her.
But I loved her, it's true
Despite everything, I loved her dearly.
Now I know what love can do
The experience with her taught me what it feels like to love someone.
Once we were young, and lived dangerous
We were young and lived recklessly, constantly taking risks.
But the rains poured down, they started to change us
The downpour of rain started to change our lives and relationship.
We both grew so ancient
We both aged rapidly, mentally and emotionally.
Singing in circles around her were golden cherubs of sorrow
I was surrounded by sadness, symbolized by the golden cherubs, when I was around her.
I tried to bury them all in the backyard with a shovel
I tried to suppress my emotions and sadness by hiding them away.
But I only dug myself a hole
Instead of healing, my actions only worsened my sadness and emotional pain.
There we were, familiar strangers
We were like strangers, even though we knew each other for a long time.
When the rains poured down, heaven knows why she changed her mind
During the rain, she had a change of heart, and it's unclear why.
Or she saved her goodbyes, over cloudy skies
Perhaps she didn't want to say goodbye to me, and left under the cloudy sky.
We tried, with clipped wings, to fly
We tried to fly despite our limitations and restrictions, as if our wings were clipped.
Contributed by Kylie P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.